


Swept Away

by Carlyn (Carlyn7865)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 08:54:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4298526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carlyn7865/pseuds/Carlyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel goes missing and both he and Jack are taken on a wild emotional ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swept Away

“Who the hell’s idea was it to come here anyway?” 

Major David Horne briskly rubbed his hands together over the meager fire, hoping the combination of flames and friction would be enough to warm his frost-stiffened fingers. Blowing hard into his cupped hands, the officer shook them out before jamming them back into his gloves.

“I thought you were from Wisconsin or some equally ass-numbingly cold place,” commented Lieutenant Colonel Robert May. “Suck it up. It’s not that cold. Look at Doctor Jackson.” Sipping from his coffee cup, May gestured over his shoulder to the lone figure sitting on a downed tree ten meters from the rest of the team. 

Daniel Jackson huddled over his journal, scribbling furiously, valiantly fighting a cold wind that occasionally flipped the pages over his scrawling hand, and a tenuous grip on his pen, compromised by his severely-gloved fingers. 

Though he wasn’t usually prone to such musings, May found that Daniel’s physical solitude triggered questions regarding the younger man’s emotional state. Daniel was one of the most gregarious men he’d ever met, yet since they’d set foot on this planet yesterday, Daniel had mostly kept to himself. Watching him now, May wondered idly whether Daniel’s decision to accompany SG-6 on this trip, rather than send a subordinate, was wholly due to the mystery surrounding the unduly dilapidated condition of the ruins a short distance from the gate. 

May consciously dragged his attention away from Daniel’s state of mind, returning to his previous train of thought. “O’Neill says he’s some kinda desert rat but you don’t hear him complaining he’s cold.”

“When have you ever heard Daniel complain about anything?” Airman Rahil Sedghi chimed in. “Other than having to leave a promising dig site.”

“The guy gets so caught up in his work, you could probably set all that pretty long hair on fire and he wouldn’t even notice until the smoke got thick enough to keep him from seeing what he was doing,” Horne chuckled. 

“Well, he is dedicated, there’s no denying that,” May said with enough emphasis to hopefully forestall any additional negative comment from his 2IC.

“Obsessive, if you ask me,” Horne replied with a sneer.

“I don’t believe I did,” May snarled. “Ask your opinion, that is.” 

Turning towards their guest archaeologist, he called, “Hey, Doctor Jackson, come on over here by the fire. It’s not really much warmer, but if we can get Horne to tell us a few stories, bet he would generate a bit of hot air.”

Daniel’s head jerked up, his mouth slightly agape. A windy gust caught the open edges of his hood, blowing the head cover back onto his shoulders. Tendrils of soft brown hair poking from beneath his wool cap whipped frenziedly around the back of his neck.

Colonel May held up a tin cup, wiggling it invitingly, “C’mon. We’ve got coffee.”

Slipping his pen between the pages on which he was writing, Daniel tucked the journal into the pocket of his knapsack and stood. Stomping his feet a bit to get the blood flowing, he marched over to join the members of SG-6 by the fire.

Sedghi scooted over to make room for Daniel on his log while SG-6’s fourth, Sergeant Mariam Adler, poured some steaming brew into a cup, handing it to Daniel as he sat.

“Mmm, thanks, Mare.” Daniel smiled at her, immediately bringing the cup to his lips and gulping half the contents.

“God, I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Is your throat lined with asbestos or something?” Sedghi’s face pulled into a grimace, as though the scalding liquid had passed down his own gullet.

Daniel shrugged, grinning shyly. 

“How about some breakfast?” Adler turned to get the supplies out of her pack.

“No, thanks,” Daniel held out a hand to still her movements. “It’s a little early for me yet. I’ll have a power bar later this morning.”

“Making any progress on those ruins, Daniel?” Sedghi asked.

Daniel perked up visibly, his posture uplifted by the airman’s genuine interest. “Some. The writing I found yesterday is a variant of Norse runes – ”

“Vikings,” Horne sniffed. “It figures. Who else would live in this environment?”

Swinging his gaze in the direction of the disagreeable tone, Daniel deflated slightly.

“None of the aerial surveys picked up any signs of recent habitation, sir,” Sgt. Adler countered. “I agree with Daniel that the buildings themselves don’t look very old, but as far as we know, no one’s lived here for a quite some time.”

“I still don’t want you going back to those ruins alone,” May said to Daniel. He turned to Horne. “Major, you’re with Doctor Jackson today.”

Airman Sedghi dipped his head, turning his face away from the major to hide his smirk.

“Great,” Horne grumbled, “I get to freeze my ass off standing around while he looks at pretty pictures all day.”

“Actually, at this stage of development –” Daniel began, cutting the lecture short when Horne shot him a threatening glare.

Daniel dipped his head, too, to hide his flush of annoyance. He understood May’s purpose in sending Horne with him – the man obviously needed practice in playing well with civilians. But it rankled that the assignment had all the hallmarks of a punishment. Besides which, he really did not need a babysitter – in spite of what Jack thought.

“It’ll probably warm up a bit as the day wears on,” Airman Sedghi offered hopefully. “At any rate, it’s bound to be warmer down here than up in those mountains where we’re headed,” he added, gesturing up to the snow capped heights.

“The initial soil analysis sent back by the M.A.L.P. indicated trinium in the soil,” Adler stated. “Any sizeable deposits will be underground, likely in that mountain.”

Sedghi frowned; making no effort to hide his lack of enthusiasm for a long climb on what to this point was an approximately 45 degree, sunless day. “Suppose it’s too much to hope that there’s a mine a short ways up just waiting to be worked.” 

“Let’s go find out. Get your gear together.” Getting to his feet, Colonel May kicked dirt over the fire. The other members of his team stood automatically, though Daniel retained his seat, nursing the remainder of his coffee.

Watching after Sedghi and Adler as they gathered up their packs, May turned to the sole civilian and his designated ‘sitter.’ 

“Doctor Jackson, Major Horne, keep in radio contact, hourly check-ins. We’ll be back by nightfall.” Looking pointedly at his junior officer, May grinned. “You’re on kitchen duty tonight, Dave. Appreciate it if you’d have dinner waiting when we get home.”

Daniel downed the last of his coffee, set the cup aside and pushed himself to his feet. Glancing at Horne’s sour countenance, Daniel muttered a “Yes, sir,” in response to May’s directive on contact. The corner of his mouth twitched upward in response to May’s acknowledging grin.

Turning as Adler approached him with his backpack, May waited patiently while she clipped the bag to the clasps on the shoulders of his vest. Nodding thanks, he trudged in the direction of the mountain; Sedghi and Adler trailing close behind.

~oOo~  
Watching them go, an unmistakable look of longing in his eyes, Major Horne twisted his foot in the fire pit, crushing out the smoldering embers, and glared up at Daniel, who stood a good four inches taller.

“We head out in two minutes,” he barked, and moved towards his own gear.

Daniel sighed and, tugging his hood back over his head, went to retrieve his backpack. 

Falling on his knees, he shoved his scattered belongings into the bag. He was pulling the zipper closed just as Horne stomped past him.

“Let’s go,” the major snapped. 

Daniel hurriedly zipped his pack and got awkwardly to his feet, nearly knocking himself back down when he slipped an arm through the opening of his vest and swung the heavy pack onto one shoulder. 

Pushing through the underbrush at the beginning of the tree line, Daniel increased his pace, slowing only when he threatened to step on Major Horne’s heels. Threading his other arm through the armhole of his vest, he hefted the pack squarely onto his back.

Unable to let the Major’s earlier comment go unchallenged, Daniel wheezed, “You know, I was surprised at the disdain with which you spoke of the Vikings. Horne may be Nordic in origin. Some of your distant relatives could have been Vikings.” Daniel ducked sideways as the branch that snapped back in his direction scraped his left shoulder. “The Nordic people have a fascinating history. I think if you –”

Daniel’s words sputtered to a stop as a hand closed over his chest, twisting into the fabric of his parka. Pulled sideways, he spun inelegantly towards Horne, jerked off balance by the sudden movement. He stumbled, ending up nose to nose with the shorter man.

“Let’s get one thing straight right from the start,” Horne sneered, lips pulled back menacingly. “I’m not interested in anything you have to say, fascinating or not.” He shoved Daniel away from him, maintaining his hold on the archaeologist. “I’m gonna watch over you today because that’s what I’ve been ordered to do. That does not mean, however, that I intend to indulge this need you apparently have to yammer incessantly. Are we clear?” 

Horne released his hold, smoothing the rumples in Daniel’s down jacket.

“Crystal,” Daniel deadpanned, meeting the older man’s glare.

“Good.” Horne’s eyes returned to Daniel’s chest. “And for God’s sake, zip that damn vest!” he ordered.

Dropping his gaze to the gap between the sides of his vest, Daniel closed his eyes and reminded himself of an adage he’d learned in one of his many foster homes, ‘You gotta go along to get along.’ That thought was followed quickly by a motto of his own making ‘But, damn I hate giving in to idiots like him.’

Gritting his teeth, Daniel slipped out of his gloves and zipped his vest, raising his eyes expectantly when he finished, letting Horne know he had had the choice to ignore the directive.

Rather than comment on his compliance, Horne merely swung an arm in the direction of the ruins, ushering Daniel into the lead. “After you.” 

Daniel compressed his lips, maintaining eye contact with Horne for a few seconds after the verbal dismissal. Finally, he turned towards the ruins, wishing for the hundredth time since they’d arrived here that Jack, and not this asshole, was watching his six. Which was really counterproductive since he had joined this exploratory jaunt to put some distance between himself and the man whose presence he had just desired.

Daniel sighed heavily. Maddeningly, desire was exactly the right word to describe how he felt about Jack O’Neill. Desire. As in crave, long for, want. Sexually.

It had taken two years, but Daniel had finally admitted to himself that Jack O’Neill stoked the fires of his passion like no else had ever done. Not even Sha’re.

As troubling as it had been to realize he was enamored of his male teammate, the real trouble had begun when he admitted his feelings to Jack.

Not that Jack had objected to the announcement. Hell, things would be so much easier if he had. But in true typically frustrating O’Neill fashion, Jack had welcomed the news,   
indicating he was open to whatever proposal Daniel wanted to make. 

Even, reluctantly, Daniel’s decision not to act on their mutual attraction. Jack had been willing to move forward, even though he had everything to lose – his career, his pension, possibly his freedom. Daniel was the one holding them back. Or rather, the one in their way was Daniel’s missing – but as far as he knew still very much alive – wife.

Daniel stumbled over a hidden root, cursing his own clumsiness and Horne’s amused snort. Imagining Jack’s supportive hand on his elbow, Daniel righted himself, shrugging his pack back into place.

“You know your feet’ll work a lot more effectively if you actually lift them off the ground,” Horne chuckled.

Daniel bit back the irreverent response racing to the tip of his tongue, mouthing silent thanks when the open corner of a crumbling stone structure came into view through the foliage.

Emerging from the trees, Daniel looked skyward, noting the blue-gray cast the clouds had acquired since they’d entered the forest. His head swiveled westward, following the fast moving objects gliding towards the mountaintop.

“Looks like SG-6 is gonna get rained on,” he said, reflexively blinking against the droplet that splashed onto his left lens.

“Just tell me some of these buildings have roofs,” Horne snapped, giving Daniel a firm shove in the direction of the ruins.

Jolted into motion by the push, Daniel sprinted across the hundred or so meters of waist-high grasses and occasional shrubs to the edge of the ruins. Breathing heavily from the forced jog, throat burning from the cool air, Daniel led Horne to the center of town, ducking through a sizeable gap in the wall of what appeared to have once been an impressive structure.

Sheltered at last from the chilling drizzle, Daniel bent over, hands on knees, and coughed roughly. He unlatched the clasps that held his backpack to his vest, easing the heavy burden to the stone floor. Standing stiffly, he reached behind him and snagged his canteen. Uncapping the bottle, he took a long pull, occupying his eyes and mind with the impending task of copying the inscriptions carved on the marble-like walls.

“I’m gonna check around,” Horne grumbled behind him. “You stay here.”

Daniel looked over his shoulder, staring after the man who was already on his way up the broken steps on the opposite side of the moderately large room.

Sighing gratefully, Daniel flipped his hood back, shuddering involuntarily as a sprinkle of cold rain water dropped from the furred fringe and down the neck of his shirt. Sliding the wool hat off his head, Daniel vigorously scratched his scalp then smoothed down his unruly hair. He knelt before his pack, jerked open the zipper, and dug out his camcorder.

Glancing up he spied the split in the wall through which they had entered and wondered again why the buildings, which didn’t appear to be all that old – certainly not old enough to be falling apart – were in such disrepair. He walked back to the opening, as if bidden to the spot by a whisper, speaking only for his ears, of mysteries yet to be solved. Bending slightly, he lifted a hand, gently fingering the uneven edges.

“Colonel May reports they’ve got a deluge on the mountain,” Horne bellowed, skipping down the crumbling stairs. 

Daniel jarred erect, snatching his hand back as though he had been caught touching something he had been told to leave alone. ‘A knee jerk reaction from working with Jack, no doubt,’ he decided.

Horne shot him a glare, an irritated sneer distorting his lips. He pointedly swung his gaze between Daniel’s position and the location of the Norse runes decorating the far wall.

Lowering his eyes, Daniel shrugged sheepishly and cursed himself for allowing Horne to bully him. Veering wide of the glowering major, Daniel returned to his gear.

“Apparently there was a cave a short distance up,” Horne continued as if nothing untoward had occurred. “They’re gonna hole up there and take some samples while they wait out the storm.” 

Daniel nodded acknowledgment and kneeled, continuing to unpack his bag of books, pens, brushes and other items he would need to do his work.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got a trashy novel or anything useful like that in there,” Horne grouched, settling himself against a questionably stable stone railing.

“Sorry,” Daniel sighed patiently. “I didn’t realize I’d be called upon to entertain you.”

Ignoring the snipe, Horne blurted, “How long you figure this’ll take you?” He gestured haphazardly at the markings.

Following the flailing fingers, Daniel gazed at the wall, smirking complacently. “Hours,” he said firmly, resisting the urge to smile openly when Horne groaned.

~oOo~

Six hours later, Daniel stood and stretched the overtaxed muscles of his lower back. Lifting a hand to the top of his head, he pulled gently on the frame of his glasses, twisting them slightly to disentangle the arms from his hair. He placed them on their usual perch on the bridge of his nose and bent to retrieve his pad. 

Horne, who had been up and down, and in and out of the room a few dozen times in the intervening hours, called to him from the top of the stairs, “Pack it up, Jackson. I just heard from the colonel. The rain on the mountain has finally let up. They’re on their way back.”

At the mention of rain, Daniel cocked an ear, surprised to discover that the soft pat of raindrops on the roof had subsided. Glancing at the scrawl-covered paper in his hand, Daniel set his mouth determinedly and turned to Horne.

“Look, I’m almost through with this section. Half an hour tops.”

Horne began shaking his head almost as soon as Daniel began his argument. “That crap might work on O’Neill, but you’re not gonna wheedle any extra time outta me,” Horne snapped. “Come on, get your shit together. I’ve got to get back and check on the camp. The rain might not have been as hard here as on the mountain but that wind could have done some damage.”

“You don’t need me for that,” Daniel rationalized. “You go ahead. I’ll be right behind you as soon as I finish up here.”

“No way. May would have my hide if he found out I’d left you alone.”

“Come on, Major.” Daniel’s tone bordered on whiny. “We’ve been here two days and haven’t even encountered a sparrow. I don’t think a pack of hungry jackals is gonna drag me off in the next thirty minutes.”

Horne’s glare softened and Daniel sensed he could make headway if his plan held some advantage for the major.

Chewing his bottom lip pensively, Daniel’s face lightened. “How about this? You go on. I’ll finish up here and head back as soon as I’m done, and I’ll double-time it so I arrive in plenty of time to help you tidy up the campsite and start dinner before the others get back.”

Horne narrowed his eyes, obviously contemplating the offer. Daniel guessed from the disagreeable sneer that the major hesitated more at the thought of giving in to Daniel’s request than the idea of a reprimand if May found out he’d left Daniel alone for even half an hour.

“You’ll be back to camp before the Colonel?” he demanded.

“Guaranteed,” Daniel affirmed, just managing to keep the victorious smile from his face.

“Awright, then. Finish up and get your scrawny ass back pronto.”

“Yes, sir,” Daniel said respectfully, stopping short of saluting. “Thank you, Major.”

Horne grumbled, adjusted his pack and disappeared out the opening in the wall through which they had entered.

Setting his mind to the task of completing his transcription, Daniel discovered he had used only twenty minutes of the thirty Horne had allowed him. The thought of wasting those hard fought for minutes too objectionable to contemplate, Daniel quickly repacked his gear. Carrying the bag by its handle, he trotted up the steps to give the rest of the structure a cursory once over.

Glancing around the huge entryway that greeted him on the other side of the door at the top of the steps, Daniel turned his head quickly to the right, attracted by a flash of light he hadn’t noticed yesterday, an inviting glitter beckoning the explorer to investigate. 

Scooting quickly across the lobby, Daniel twisted sideways, just squeezing through the narrow gap between the doorjamb and a huge bookcase that had had been pushed over the entrance by the buckling outer wall.

Surveying the wall, Daniel noted that the section that had fallen inward appeared to be shored up by the bookshelf. A corner of the roof had caved in leaving a sizeable gap through which the elements, including this morning’s shower, freely entered. 

Satisfied that the structure wasn’t coming down today, Daniel turned towards the area from which the intriguing glint had summoned him. Finding what appeared to be a desk built into the opposite wall; he set down his backpack and, flicking aside a handful of leaves, he gingerly fingered the elegant, ornately decorated dagger beneath. Lifting the knife by the pommel, he rested the blade in the palm of his hand, turning it over several times.

Having detected what appeared to be tiny letters carved on the blade, Daniel lifted his glasses onto his head and brought the blade closer to his face. Instantaneously with the blade’s nearness to his eyes, the metal blazed brilliantly and Daniel winced, blinking to clear his dazzled vision.

Noting the warmth on the back of his hand, Daniel fluttered his fingers and grinned at the elaborate dance the year’s old dust motes executed in the sun’s beam. Tipping his face towards the source of the warmth, Daniel confirmed that along with rain and leaves, the gap in the ceiling admitted sunshine to this room.

Squinting in the harsh light pouring through the opening, Daniel closed his eyes and basked in the heat the beam offered, heat he hadn’t felt since he stepped foot on this bleak planet more than thirty-six hours ago. Now that the clouds that had greeted them on their arrival had passed over, and the sun, that they had only speculated was up there, put in an appearance, the temperature seemed to have climbed rapidly. 

Daniel’s lips pulled into a moue of discontent when he realized that his heavy outerwear, perfect for the windy chill of the dreary world they had come to a day and a half ago, was damned uncomfortable in the bright, sun-toasted environment he now found himself in. 

Dropping the dagger into the outer pocket of his pack, Daniel quickly slipped out of his vest and unzipped the parka. He shrugged out of the offending garment, letting it fall to the floor, and palmed the sweat that has already gathered on his brow. Donning the vest once again, he refastened it, fully aware that he would have to suffer through a repeat performance of Horne’s reprimand if he showed up at camp with the vest unzipped. He contemplated leaving the jacket behind, remembering suddenly that he was obligated to run back to camp. 

Glancing at his watch he cursed colorfully in Abydonian upon finding that the ten minutes he had had to the good had become forty-seven in the hole. 

“How the hell did that happen?”

As he bent to retrieve his parka, Daniel detected a faint crackling sound. Having been present at one too many cave-ins, Daniel straightened quickly, gaping, horrified, at the compromised outer wall that wavered in his direction. 

Back pedaling to get clear of the impending collapse, he cried out as the floor beneath him split, swallowing his legs to mid-thigh. He twisted, pushing desperately against the stone around him in an attempt to hoist himself back above ground before the wall collapsed completely. 

Letting out a groan that echoed the structure’s, Daniel gasped, slipping further into the crevice, the jagged rock stabbing agonizingly into his hip. He felt a hysterical laugh bubbling in the back of his throat at the absurdity of his predicament – trapped between floors of a crumbling building hoping on the one hand that the slab’s hold on him would keep him from disappearing beneath the floor, while at the same time terrified that that same hold would keep him from escaping death beneath a ton of rubble.

The building shook again, the crack opening slightly, and Daniel felt the constricting pressure of the concrete’s grip around his chest. Lacking enough space to expand his lungs properly, Daniel wheezed out what he believed would be his final thoughts.

“’m s-sorry, J’ck.” 

As though just waiting for him to make his parting statement, the ground shifted again releasing him, finally, to plummet downward. Daniel’s anguished cry was cut off when the back of his head impacted with the stone as he passed through the opening. 

Barely aware he was falling; Daniel came to full alertness with the cold blackness enveloping his being, stealing his breath, his heat. Battling with all he had, Daniel flailed madly, praying the direction he was headed led to air. 

Just as he despaired of reaching oxygen before his instinctive need to breath caused his to inhale the fluid he found himself surrounded by, Daniel sputtered above the surface of the water. Desperately drawing breath, he choked on the liquid forced down his throat by the choppy wavelets breaking against him. He tread the water, and just breathed, pushing back the various discomforts his body tried to distract him with. 

Glancing upward to determine the distance he had dropped, Daniel howled despondently as the light above him receded, the water’s flow carrying him away from the place any rescue was sure to focus.

As much as he hated to give in, Daniel knew he’d need all his strength just to stay above the surface. Having made the decision not to waste energy fighting the current, he bobbed along the underground river like a cork, unresisting, only occasionally stirring up the waters himself to stay afloat.

It wasn’t long before Daniel discovered his inactivity in the chill water, while saving his strength, was sapping his body’s warmth. Swiveling his head wildly, a move that cost him a dunk underwater, Daniel squinted towards where he believed the shoreline should be, aware for the first time that he had lost his glasses. Not that having them would have made a bit of difference, he realized, his search for a place to go aground proving useless as the only light – from the crack in the foundation through which he had fallen – was now probably hundreds of meters away. 

Having no other choice, he swum blindly, praying he was moving towards the side of the river. Just as Daniel began to believe he’d be unable to lift his arms for another stroke, he struck rock, crying out at the sudden impact – as much from relief as from the pain in his wrist. 

Still conveyed on the current, Daniel reached out with both hands, curling his fingers as they skimmed along the smooth surface of the rock face. He was shortly rewarded for his efforts when one of his hands caught in a crevice. His body’s downstream motion halted as he slammed against the stone.

Daniel grappled for a more secure hold, slipping as many fingers into the crack as he could fit. He pulled himself flush against the rock, gasping desperately from fatigue, cold and pain.

Clinging precariously to the side of what he surmised was an underground cavern carved out by this river, Daniel dragged in ragged breaths, as slowly and deeply as his near panic and the discomfort in his chest would allow, knowing that eventually the force of the current would rip him from his perch.

After what seemed an eternity, but was in reality only a few minutes, Daniel chanced removing one hand from the crevice, sliding it outward and upward over the rock face, stretching to the very limit of his reach, searching for another handhold. He bellowed hopefully, his voice mercilessly drowned out by the pounding water, as his hand brushed along the surface of what appeared to be a flat shelf about a meter above him. He walked his fingers as far back along the ledge as his reach would allow but was unable to determine the size of the landing.

Fully aware that he would likely have only one shot at hoisting himself out of the river and onto what could be mere centimeters of rock, Daniel pressed his feet against the stone beneath him, laid his left palm on top of the rock shelf, and pushed himself upward with the hand still wedged in the crevice. Hissing as the sharp edges of the fissure cut into his fingers, he heaved with tired leg muscles, gaining enough height to drape his forearm over the shelf. Scrabbling madly on the balls of his feet, he swung his right arm up and over the outcropping. He dug both elbows into the unforgiving surface, and pulled himself slowly forward against the suctioning force of the river that seemed intent on yanking him back.

Once his hips cleared the top of the ledge, Daniel fell forward, rolling to bring his legs up onto dry land. He didn’t roll far, learning when his forehead scraped the rock wall that the river bank was only about a meter wide. 

Flopping onto his back, Daniel swallowed down the triumphant yell surging upward from his battered lungs. He may have defeated the river but he was far from safe, trapped on a rock ledge in pitch blackness, far from where anyone was likely to look for him. Add to that his wounds and the probable onset of hypothermia and celebration was definitely premature.

All those scattered details seeped from his mind as Daniel felt the stir of impending regurgitation. He pushed an elbow against the rock wall and rolled onto his side. Gagging then moaning, he expelled the water he’d swallowed in his initial dunking. 

Coughing and gasping, he dragged his knees towards his chest to conserve whatever heat remained in his body. He shivered miserably, wincing as the pain in his hip spiked momentarily. 

“Can’t sleep,” he whispered, though he was exhausted beyond enduring. Fearing that the pain in the back of his head was indicative of a concussion severe enough to keep him from waking, he raised a heavy hand, gingerly palpating the tacky knot beneath his fingers. 

He allowed gravity to bring the hand down, across his neck, to rest on his shoulder - the shoulder where his radio was harnessed. Having no hope of getting the earpiece in, he gripped the device in disconcertedly numb fingers and squeezed the button. The radio crumbled beneath his grasp and Daniel cursed under his breath, surmising it had been crushed between his body and the jagged rock of the crevice when he fell through the floor. 

Though he had never before experienced hypothermia, Daniel knew that the longer he lay here, cold and wet, the more function he’d lose in his fingers as the blood fled the digits to support other, more vital, areas of his body. 

“I guess I sh-should get out of these w-wet things,” he panted, wondering idly if that was the proper thing to do since he had nothing to replace them with. Daniel walked his fingers to the zipper on his vest, tugging weakly on the device, expecting the teeth to separate with the slightest effort. Groaning when the vest refused to open, he tightened his fumbling grip, and pulled harder. Still the zipper refused to budge. 

Remembering the radio, Daniel slid his fingertips down the front of his vest. The jagged edges that met his touch confirmed his suspicion. The zipper’s teeth had been displaced by the crushing pressure when the fissure closed around him. 

“Fuck!” he gasped in heartfelt exasperation, “the o-one time I zip the damn, damn vest… Why the h-hell did I let Horne get… to me?” 

As tears of frustration threatened, Daniel shook them off, and concentrated on his breathing to calm himself. The discomfort in his chest reminded him that the closed vest had probably shielded his ribs from serious damage when the floor shifted and pressed around his torso.

“Mixed b-blessing,” he muttered absently.

Remembering suddenly that his knife was sharp enough to cut through the material, Daniel straightened his legs and rolled forward slightly, reaching behind him. When his fingers brushed his empty scabbard, Daniel flashed on his knife, lying discarded on the floor of his tent where he had tossed it after cutting the rope he had used to secure his tent against the wind. A sound like a whimper issued from his throat and Daniel frowned. 

The decision of whether or not to undress taken out of his hands, Daniel considered whether he had anything else with him that he might use to remove his vest. Quickly patting himself down, he suppressed a cry of delight when he discovered his penlight in one of his vest pockets. Delight instantly became dismay when he pressed the switch and the darkness remained. Skittering his fingers over the end of the light, Daniel closed his useless eyes and concentrated on his sense of touch. Unable to detect any warmth emanating from the small bulb, Daniel fervently hoped that the light was broken or his fingers had lost too much sensation and were therefore prevented from feeling the heat. If neither the light nor his fingers were defective, the problem was with his eyesight. Blindness was not a possibility he cared to contemplate too thoroughly.

“Da-damn cur…io…sity,” he muttered around stuttered breaths. “Jack… said it…w-would… get me… killed.”

Jack. Jack was gonna be so pissed. As though conjured by the utterance of his name, the older man appeared in Daniel’s cold-befuddled mind, taking shaped on the backs of the still closed eyelids.

The short brown hair was disheveled, sticking out in occasional spikes on top of his head. Daniel smiled softly, catching a glimpse of the cap held in fingerless-gloved hands, knowing that only seconds before he materialized, Jack had scrubbed one or both of those hands across his scalp. 

His inner eye lowered, meeting a dark, piercing stare, and Daniel’s smile faded. Jack scowled at him, the crevice at the bridge of his nose made more prominent by the brows pulled low over his narrowed eyes. The thin, firm lips were drawn tight in disapproval. 

Daniel’s own forehead lowered, his eyebrows separated by the twin deep furrows on either side of the bridge of his nose. While this was the likely countenance he would be presented with if Jack were real, this was most definitely not the Jack he needed. 

Mentally pushing aside this image, Daniel brought forth a softer, more supportive incarnation of his friend – the Jack who had greeted him when he walked into the gateroom after Jack believed him lost on Klorel’s ship. ‘Spacemonkey,’ the phantom Jack whispered again that single word, infused with so much affection that Daniel’s face had burst into a beatific spontaneous smile. 

The memory pulled at the corners of his lips and, even in the face of his dire circumstances, Daniel smiled. Shifting as comfortably onto the hard surface as his various hurts would allow, Daniel surrounded himself with the figurative warmth of Jack’s presence, and waited. They might be in a bad place right now, but Jack would come. He always did. 

~oOo~

“Jackson, where the hell are you!” 

Dave Horne snatched his earpiece from its resting place, having failed on his third try to raise the archaeologist on his radio. He glared at his watch and growled upon confirming that Daniel was nearly two hours later than he said he’d be. He’d hated to use the radio, knowing that the other members of his team could possibly intercept the message, but he’d had no other choice.

Figuring it would take the rest of his team at least three hours from the time he left the ruins to arrive back at camp, Horne had decided, when Jackson didn’t show up as planned, to just let the little pain in the ass play with his pictures a while longer. At least that way he wouldn’t have to bark at him repeatedly to shut up. But now it was nearing the two and half hour mark and, depending on their pace, Colonel May and the others could walk into camp any time.

“Jackson,” he snarled under his breath, “I swear to God, if I find out you just turned your radio off to avoid hearing me call you –” This train of thought was broken by a rustle and the unmistakable stomp of Air Force issue boots.

“Major Horne,” his CO called as the three additional members of SG-6 stumbled into camp, “Something you want to tell me?” Marching directly to the major, May slipped a bandana out of the parka draped over his arm and tossed the superfluous garment on the ground. Balling the bandana in his fist, he ran the material over his sweaty face.

‘Shit, they heard,’ Horne cringed as he turned to face the colonel, coming automatically to attention. Figuring his best defense was to plead insanity, Horne quickly sputtered.

“Sir, I swear, he told me he’d be no more than thirty minutes. And I really needed the quiet time. Do you know the guy talks to himself when he does these translations of his? Six hours of listening to his nonsensical mutters would cause anyone to make an error in judgment.”

“Are you telling Doctor Jackson is still back at the ruins?”

Horne stared dumbly for a moment, holding his breath, his posture still respectfully erect. Finally, his shoulders collapsed. “He must be. I didn’t call him until just a few minutes ago –”

May spun away from his 2IC, slipped his earpiece into place and gripped his radio. “Doctor Jackson, come in please.” Like Horne, May’s only answer was silence. “Daniel, where are you?” 

Still receiving no response, to his inquiry, May spat a heartfelt, “Shit!” and turned to Sedghi and Adler, both of whom had removed their coats and vests, and stood nearby listening to the exchange.

“Lieutenant, Airman Sedghi, put those vests back on. We’re goin’ to the ruins.” May grabbed Horne’s shoulder as the major, too, bent to retrieve his gear. “Not you, Major,” he sneered into the shorter man’s face. “You are going back to the Stargate and reporting Doctor Jackson’s status. You get to be the one to tell Colonel O’Neill that you lost his archaeologist.”

“It’s been less than three hours –” Horne protested.

“Doctor Jackson is not answering his radio,” May reminded him.

“Maybe he turned it off,” Horne offered.

“Yeah, or maybe part of that structure collapsed on him!” May countered. “The fact is you should not have left him alone. Now, go and let the SGC know what’s going on. Let Hammond decide what he wants to do about it.” Glancing over his shoulder at the two junior members of his team, both of whom stood ready to head out, May wiped his forehead again and jammed the bandana in his pocket. “Stay at the ‘gate. As soon as we know something I’ll radio you. You can convey updated information to the base.”

“Yes, sir,” Horne muttered, head hung low.

Giving his 2IC a final glare, May turned in the direction of the ruins. “Move out,” he called to his teammates.

As his team went to determine Daniel’s fate, Horne had serious concerns about his own. Sighing deeply, he snatched up his pack and headed for his encounter with Jack O’Neill, thankful that he was physically separated from the colonel by a few hundred light years.

~oOo~

“What do mean you’re not sure?” O’Neill barked into the control room’s mic, immediately on edge when Horne evasively responded to his inquiry into Daniel’s well-being.

“The last time I saw Doctor Jackson he was well. Happy even. He was finishing up his drawings –”

“Where is Doctor Jackson now, Major?” Hammond gazed down at the video display of SG-6’s second in command, noting with ill-ease that the major appeared to be squirming.

“We think he’s still at the ruins,” Horne murmured.

“You think!?”

Hammond placed a restraining hand on Jack’s arm as the colonel took a menacing step towards the monitor.

“Colonel May and the rest of SG-6 are headed there now. The colonel said he’d radio me once they knew something for sure.”

“Major, when did you last speak to Doctor Jackson?” Hammond’s ill-ease was careening swiftly towards dread the longer Horne maneuvered around their questions.

Horne lifted the protective covering from the face of his watch and stared at the timepiece, seemingly captivated by the display.

Mentally counting to five, Hammond prompted, “Major?”

Clearing his throat, Horne glanced hesitantly into the MALP’s video camera. “Just over three hours ago, sir.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jack whirled towards his CO. “Permission to retrieve my absent team member, sir.”

Just catching Horne’s expectant wince as he turned towards O’Neill, Hammond nodded. “Permission granted, Colonel. Have the rest of your team suited up and ready to depart ASAP.”

“Yes, sir,” O’Neill blurted as he headed out of the control room to find Carter and Teal’c.

Hammond turned back to the video display. “Major Horne, you wait right there until SG-1 arrives.”

Gulping convulsively, Horne nevertheless snapped to attention. “Yes, sir. I’ll be here.”

~oOo~

“Where are these ruins?” The Colonel enquired, glancing from the compass imbedded in the strap of his watch to the mountain over the major’s shoulder, marking its location from the gate. “How far?” Squinting into the distance, he disentangled the tether from which his sunglasses dangled around his neck and slid the lenses over his eyes. 

“This way, sir,” Horne replied, inwardly sighing in relief when O’Neill covered his eyes. Even though that glare had rested on him for no more than a second, Horne had found the experience as chilling as that morning’s wind. The colonel’s eyes were too-black, seemingly soulless. At least what he could see of them since they were all but hidden beneath the heavy brow that hung menacingly over them. Horne hoped absently that once they found Doctor Jackson, the colonel would redirect that glare on the archaeologist.

Horne pivoted northeastward. “It’s just over two thousand meters from this position,” he added.

Following at a brisk pace behind their guide, Jack depressed the button on his radio. “sierra gulf six leader, this is sierra gulf one-niner, do you read?”

“Hey, Jack.” Robert May’s voice sounded worn. “Sorry to report we haven’t found Daniel yet. We’ve just reached the ruins, and we’re heading to the place he was last seen.”

“Roger that,” Jack acknowledged. “We’re gonna double time it from here. We should be arriving at your location in approximately fifteen minutes.”

“Horne can direct you once you reach the ruins. I’ll let you know if we find anything before then.”

Wincing slightly at May’s less than enthusiastic delivery, Jack guessed that the man was anticipating having to report they had found Daniel’s lifeless body.

“Thanks, Bob. O’Neill out.” Shrugging his pack higher on his back, Jack silently cursed himself for the abuse he was about to mete out on his knees, and turned to Horne. “Okay, Major, let’s pick up the pace.”

“Yes, sir.” Horne adjusted his stride to a fast trot, a gait which made conversation all but impossible. 

Which suited Jack just fine. Talking was the last thing he wanted to do. Only problem was, with his mind unoccupied with other tasks, his thoughts automatically turned to Daniel and the incident two weeks earlier that heralded the beginning of this tension between them … 

 

// Despite Martouf’s buzzkilling pronouncement, Jack decreed that Apophis’s defeat at the hands of Sokar still warranted a team night pizza and beer celebration. Daniel had been too quiet in the locker room, but Jack attributed that to Daniel’s too kind heart. As far as Jack was concerned, if Sokar did intend to resurrect Apophis only to torture him to death again, well…it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Pretty early on in the festivities, it became apparent that Daniel’s funk involved more than just sympathy for Apophis or his host. The young archaeologist circumvented drunk, downing beers like a college freshman at his first frat party, and moved swiftly on to passed out on Jack’s couch. 

After seeing Carter and Teal’c out, Jack draped a blanket over Daniel, his hand lingering a little too long on Daniel’s back and the younger man opened his eyes, rolling over to gaze up into Jack’s face. The lights were dimmed but Jack swore Daniel’s eyes were full of tears when he closed them again. 

The next morning Daniel looked like hell, and, it turned out, not only from a hangover. When pressed, Daniel admitted that he hadn’t slept at all once Jack left him alone. 

Setting a cup of coffee on the table in front of his friend, Jack slid into the chair next to Daniel’s, offering silent encouragement and support.

“I just… I couldn’t stop… thinking,” Daniel moaned. Jack wisely held onto his stock response to an opening like that.

“I should be happy about Apophis’s downfall. Getting rid of him should make our lives so much easier,” he continued, slumped awkwardly in his chair. “But even with that bastard snake gone, we’re no closer to finding Sha’re.” 

Daniel gripped his temples with thumb and forefinger, squeezing against the throb that threatened to blow his skull apart. He skimmed the fingers over his eyes on the way to the bridge of his nose, the disturbance releasing a flood of hot tears over his wan face. 

“And I need to find her because I-I can’t get on with my life –” Daniel balled his hands to stop their trembling.

“You’ll get your wife back, Daniel.” Jack assured, laying a comforting hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“What if I don’t want her back!” No sooner had the words left his mouth than Daniel gasped, obviously regretting his outburst. He pushed away from Jack and stood, overturning his chair. Clutching his stomach, he lurched to the sink and vomited, pulling great gulps of air between bouts. 

Jack went to him, nose twitching at the acrid odor filling the small space. He leaned over Daniel and turned on the water then stood next to his friend rubbing calming circles over Daniel’s back. But even with such intimate contact, it had taken Jack a minute to realize that Daniel’s lungs had ceased heaving with his stomach and now stuttered with sobs.

“Daniel?” Jack’s hand dropped to his side as the hunched figure straightened.

“How can I be so selfish?” Daniel turned and raised rheumy, red-rimmed eyes on him. “Sha’re’s out there… I know she’s alive… But it’s been so long…” 

Jack shook his head, totally at a loss.

Drawing a broken breath, Daniel blew it out forcefully, swiping his sleeve over his face. “I’m not a damn machine. I need…”

Wincing uncomfortably, Jack took a step backward. “Ahhh. Look, Daniel, I don’t think…”

Daniel turned on Jack, the strange intensity in his eyes a force impossible to resist, drawing Jack like a moth to its funeral pyre. 

Daniel smiled sweetly, an expression that his eyes were far from mirroring. “I know you look at me, when you think I’m oblivious… like in my office, when I’m working.”

Jack’s mouth dropped, his eyes wide in alarm, but Daniel shook his head. “Its okay, Jack,” he raised a hand to fleetingly caress his friend’s cheek. “I’ve been watching you, too. For quite some time now.”

Jack blinked, and Daniel thought for a second that this must be the face Jack had modeled his dumb colonel look on.

“Daniel, are you saying…”

“That I have… feelings that…”

“Feelings?”

Daniel’s smile turned as sad as his eyes. “That I can’t act on – because I have a wife.” // 

 

As Horne slowed in front of him, Jack returned to the present. The ruins lay less than ten meters away, just beyond a grassy field.

Taking advantage of the change in pace, Carter pulled up beside the major. 

“Didn’t Colonel May report that the temperatures were in the 40s?” she puffed. As was her wont, Carter had briefly glimpsed the data entry from SG-6’s last check-in. “It feels a good bit warmer than that now.” Rotating her head slightly, she pulled the neck of her jacket away from her tacky skin.

“Actually, this is what we were expecting when we arrived here yesterday,” Horne griped breathlessly. “The MALP indicated daytime temps in the high 60s with nighttime temps near 40. Good thing we brought the parkas, though because we didn’t see the sun for most of the two days we were here. There was a damn cold wind, too.” He ran a sleeve over his sweaty forehead. “We had a rain storm earlier today, and then the sun came out.”

“That explains the humidity,” Carter grumbled.

“Jack?” 

As the radios burst to life, Jack stopped mid-stride and barked at Carter and Horne to cut the chitchat.

“Yeah, O’Neill here. What have you found?” Lifting his finger from the button, Jack nevertheless kept his hold on his radio, gripping it tightly to keep his hand from visibly shaking.

“Daniel’s not in the room where we found the inscription yesterday. We’re fanning out to search the rest of this building, before expanding the search throughout the ruins.”

“Acknowledged. We’re just outside the city now. Should be there in two.” Releasing his radio, thoroughly discontent to learn Daniel was not in the place he was last seen, Jack turned on the man who had dared leave Daniel alone and barked, “Move it, Horne.”

Startled by the sudden command, Major Horne nearly leapt the remaining distance, pulling up outside the familiar gouge in the wall in just under the predicted two minutes.

“Just through there is the room Doctor Jackson was working in.” Horne stepped back, indicating the opening to O’Neill. 

Not even sparing the major a glance as he passed, Jack pushed his way through the cavity and called for May.

As he stepped into the entryway, Colonel May signaled him from further down the hallway.

“In here, Jack,” May yelled. Once Jack started in his direction, May turned and slipped through the narrow opening of the doorway behind him.

Having removed his backpack in order to squeeze through the cranny, Jack dropped it next to the stack of backpacks that SG-6 had discarded just to the left of the entrance. He grimaced as the direct sunlight, too bright even through his wrap-round shades, hit him full in the face.

“Adler thinks this section of wall has collapsed since we were here yesterday,” May informed him, gesturing to the portion of the outside wall that now lay in several broken, but still very large, pieces on the floor. 

Lieutenant Adler and Airman Sedghi were on their hands and knees, peering with flashlights under the edges that were elevated by items which had been caught underneath when the wall came down. The debris extended nearly the length of the room, covering a good portion of the stone beneath their feet.

As Jack watched the youngsters crawl around the slab, he noted the groan of a settling foundation.

“Colonel?” 

The break in Adler’s voice captured Jack’s attention absolutely and sent a prickle across the back of his neck. The Lieutenant looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes. 

“I think I see Doctor Jackson’s parka,” she said apologetically, as though it was her fault that this search appeared to have had an unhappy ending.

Hearing Carter’s gasp behind him, Jack whirled, noting that his 2IC had emerged from the hallway just as Adler made her discovery. As he watched, Teal’c squirmed his way through the opening, adjusting the bookcase’s position slightly to get by.

Jack motioned the members of his team into action. “Teal’c, get around to the other side. There are enough of us here we can probably lift this slab.” 

Airman Sedghi came to his feet, moving beside Colonel May to grasp the edges of the stone. As instructed, Teal’c stepped around the broken wall, followed by Carter and Horne, who had been the last to enter the room.

Meeting the green-grey eyes of Lieutenant Adler, who remained on the floor, her intention to go under the slab to retrieve Daniel clear in her determined stare, Jack bent and took the portion of the wall in front of him. Counting to three, he straightened his aching knees with the rest of them, grunting with the effort.

Adler disappeared briefly under the stone, scampering back and onto her haunches, Daniel’s empty parka in one hand, and a backpack, presumably Daniel’s, in the other. 

“You can set it down,” she gasped. “He’s not under there.”

Jack felt his heart kick-start again with Adler’s announcement.

“Where the hell is he, then?” Jack turned dangerous eyes on Horne.

“I don’t know, sir. I left him –” the major began.

“Exactly. You left him!”

“Jack!” May shouted at the same time Carter laid a hand on his arm yelling, “Sir!” 

Jack, who had taken a step towards the man who abandoned his archaeologist to an unknown fate, whirled on his 2IC, glaring at the hand gripping his arm. 

“Colonel, with respect, we need to find Daniel. You can deal with this,” she jabbed her chin at Major Horne, “later.”

“She’s right, Jack,” May shot Horne a withering look to let the man know he shouldn’t expect his CO’s support in defending his actions. “Right now, we should split up –”

“O’Neill.” Teal’c, who had wandered to the topmost edge of the fallen slab, stood stock still, his hand held up to demand silence, his head tipped to one side.

Now that there was no more movement or talking, a heretofore unnoticed sound, a sort of low roar, became readily apparent.

Jack came quickly to Teal’c’s side, and, heedless of the discomfort to his knees, fell at the Jaffa’s feet digging his fingers into the edge of the stone.

With his ear much closer to the roaring sound, Jack was better able to discern its source.

“There’s a crack in the floor just under this section of wall. There’s water rushing under here.”

Carter came to his side and looked pointedly across the slab at Horne. “You said you had rain earlier this morning?”

“Yeah, six hours at least,” May responded, walking in their direction. “Pretty heavy downpour in the mountains, too. 

Knowing that the Captain had a theory, Jack craned his neck to glance up at her.

“Carter?”

“Sir, my guess is a flash flood. I’d bet that river the aerial survey showed to the north of the mountain runs underground here. That rain has likely swollen what’s usually a very docile flow.”

“How does that help us find Daniel?” Adler closed the pack she had pulled out from under the rock wall, having gone through it to confirm its ownership. “This is Daniel’s pack, by the way,” she said, holding up an object she’d found in the outside pocket.

Jack cursed, recognizing the decorative dagger as just the sort of artifact Daniel would risk his neck to retrieve.

“Then he was in this room,” Carter said unnecessarily. “And knowing Daniel, he would not have left his pack behind unless he had no choice.”

“Maybe he dropped it when the wall started falling,” Sedghi offered.

“Maybe,” Carter conceded. “But more likely he had set it down and was unable to retrieve it when the wall started collapsing.”

“What difference does it make?” Jack snapped irritably. “We know he’s not under there.” 

While they had been speculating on why Daniel left his pack behind, Jack’s fingers had continued to work at the edges of the slab. Pulling his hand out to gesture at the rock which had held no answers regarding Daniel’s whereabouts, Jack flinched slightly when Carter gasped.

“Sir, you’ve cut yourself.”

Glancing at the red fluid coating his fingertips, Jack wiped the blood off with his left hand. 

“It’s not mine,” he said mechanically, staring at the fingers even as Carter pulled them towards her to search for a wound.

Jack snatched his hand away from her. “It’s not my blood, Carter,” he barked, slightly angry with himself for taking his anxiety out on her. Pivoting on his knees, he addressed the Jaffa who still stood nearby. “Teal’c, we gotta uncover this hole in the floor.”

“You believe that Daniel Jackson has fallen through to the water beneath?”

Jack sighed. “It’s just the sort of thing Daniel’s likely to do,” he responded, infusing his voice with irritation to mask his fear.

As Teal’c, Carter and the members of SG-6 came around to the top of the slap, Jack shifted to the balls of his feet, again digging his fingers beneath the rock. He nodded at Horne and Adler who had positioned themselves on the far end of the slab to his left. 

“We’re gonna swing this thing your way. Carter,” he turned his gaze to the right. “If I’ve got this figured right, that hole’s right under the edge here near you. I want you to get down and tell us when we’re clear.

“Yes, sir.” Carter dropped unhesitatingly to her knees.

“Okay. Like before,” Jack instructed the remaining participants. “On three.”

Counting down, Jack stiffened his back and once he reached three, pushed with his legs, swinging his upper body to his left. The stone slid slowly sideways. When he’d come to the limit of his reach, Jack scuffled his feet to the left, following the progression of the slab.

Though the tendons in his legs and muscles in his back and arms screamed for relief, Jack did not let up his effort until he heard Carter call, “That should do it.”

“Let it down slowly.” Jack’s voice was as strained as his body. He fell back onto his knees.

Turning to Carter he frowned. Her blond head, coated now with a fine layer of stone dust, was bowed and she stared seeming mesmerized by something she cradled against her chest. The object caught the glare of the sunshine and Jack reached over and removed it from her clasp, raising Daniel’s glasses to marvel at their near pristine condition.

“They were protected from the slab by some smaller stones. They must have fallen off when he… and they landed in the middle of that ring of stone and were protected…”

“Yeah,” Jack patted her shoulder, and Carter immediately bucked up. Maybe it was a portent of their owner’s fate.

Jack tucked the glasses in his vest pocket and, with the others who had helped to uncover it, surveyed the fissure that had been revealed. Blood was clearly evident on the ragged side of the opening.

“You think Daniel fell through that?” Sedghi asked, incredulous. “It hardly looks wide enough to accommodate a child, let alone a full grown man.”

“It’s entirely possible the ground shifted, saturated by all that rain you got earlier,” Carter surmised. “The ground probably opened up right where Daniel was standing, wide enough to drop him through, then shifted again so the edges were pushed closer together.” Her scientist mind taking the fore for a second, she added idly, “That must be why these buildings are in such disrepair even though they don’t actually appear to be that old. When he first saw the UAV photos, Daniel said –” 

“Whatever,” Jack snarled, turning away from her puzzled squint. “We need to get this hole open again.” Glancing at Teal’c over his shoulder he raised a brow. “Staff weapon?” 

“Sir,” Carter interjected, “a staff weapon would cause too great a gap too quickly. The entire building could shift and collapse.”

“What, then?” he asked in such a manner as to inform her she’d better have a damn good alternative.

“I think we could safely chip away at the edges incrementally.” Her fingers dug into one of the pockets on her vest, emerging with a pair of safety glasses. Slipping them on, she grasped the automatic rifle dangling from its strap over her shoulder. “I think everyone else should wait in the hall,” adding almost as an afterthought, “just in case.” 

Jack’s dark eyes met her bright blue ones, narrowing slightly in concern.

“You might check out the other rooms. See if you can find something we can jam in there to hold the fissure open in the event the building does shift again.”

Jack nodded, instructing Teal’c and the junior members of SG-6 to carry out the search. As he followed Colonel May out of the doorway, Carter stepped back from the breach and raised her MP-5.

Dividing his attention between Teal’c, who moved from room to room searching for bracing materials, and the short, tight bursts of gunfire coming from Carter’s last location, Jack balled his impotent hands into frustrated fists.

“Hang in there, Daniel,” he whispered the next time Carter’s weapon sang.

After what seemed an interminably long period of time, his 2IC poked her head through the doorway. 

“That should do it, sir,” she panted.

Jack nearly pushed her back in his enthusiasm to enter the room. He cringed slightly at the boom of the pounding river, much more prominent now that its thunder was not muffled by a couple meters of stone. 

Mesmerized by the river’s rumble, Jack startled when Teal’c’s voice rumbled behind him. He stepped aside to make room for his Jaffa friend, who hauled in a several stone posts, each about sixty centimeters long and twelve centimeters in diameter that Jack recognized as having come from the railing in the room where Daniel had been working. Airman Sedghi followed with a third. 

“Bring it here, Teal’c,” Carter called, stepping gingerly around the newly opened hole. She stooped down to guide the top of the pillar against the broken edge of the stone floor. Using her handgun to chip away another few centimeters, Carter nodded approvingly once they had wedged two of the columns into the opening.

Jack slipped off his MP-5 and leaned it against the wall near the doorway. Pulling his flashlight from his pack, he stepped over to the hole and went to his knees. Carefully spreading himself out on the floor next to Carter, he aimed the beam downward. A rapid flow of murky grey water rushed beneath his light. Swinging the lamp upward, he tipped his head sideways, focusing on the riverbank.

“Teal’c.”

Trusting his teammate to understand his need, Jack shimmied forward, slowed a bit by the grip on his ankles. 

Jack continued to writhe towards the hole until his hips were flush with the edge. Gripping the flashlight firmly, he bent at the waist and directed the glow to the side and before him. Taking careful note of the terrain his light revealed, Jack raised his free hand, a signal for Teal’c to pull him back.

Grunting slightly – Teal’c’s tug digging his belt into his gut – Jack rolled back onto the stone floor once his ribcage cleared the hole. 

Coughing roughly, he pushed himself to his knees. “There’s a rock ledge thirty meters to the right. It’s approximately a meter wide and it goes at least as far as my beam reached.”

Resting on her haunches beside him, Carter stiffened formally. “Sir, permission to –”

“Negative, Captain.” Jack glanced back into the hole. “This one’s mine.” 

“Someone should go with you,” Carter began her protest.

“No. We have no idea how sturdy that rock shelf is. I’m not gonna risk anyone else.”

Carter drew breath to continue her argument but ended up expelling it in a defeated sigh when the colonel glared her to silence.

Echoing her sigh, Jack jerked his head towards the river. “Assuming he hasn’t already drowned,” he began hesitantly, “how long can Daniel survive in that water?”

Carter glared over the edge of the gap. “That would depend on the water’s temperature, sir. According to Major Horne, there was a good bit of rain in the mountains. Some of that runoff could be from the snow and ice on the mountain’s peak. If so, that water could be icy cold.” She swallowed convulsively as though to consume her next thoughts. “In which case, I don’t think it will matter how soon we find Daniel.”

Jack turned from her worried eyes as a rope dangled near his shoulder. Grasping the large, dark hand offered for assistance, he climbed slowly to his feet and stepped into the makeshift harness Teal’c had fashioned from his own rope. 

“Let’s hope the rain didn’t make it that far up the mountain.”

He reached up and unclipped one side of his backpack, turning so that the bag swung in Carter’s direction as she stood.

“Check what I’ve got in there. I need the first aid kit and a field cooking unit to warm water. And as many thermal blankets as you can squeeze in.”

“Yes, sir.” Carter unhooked the remaining clip and moved a short distance away with the colonel’s pack.

He watched after her then turned to find Teal’c scraping at the side of the opening with the blade of his knife, smoothing the rock to lessen the chance of the rope being frayed on the jagged edge as he descended. 

Detecting movement behind him, Jack called to the almost forgotten team leader of SG-6. “Why don’t you and your team head back to SGC. Ask Hammond to send an S&R team and a medical unit.”

“Sir,” Major Horne stepped between the two superior officers, swiveling his head to divide his attention between them. “With your permission, Colonels, I’d like to stay planetside. I can bring the rescue and med teams to you.”

Narrowing his eyes at the major, Jack quickly determined that the man wasn’t just trying to get on his good side, but genuinely wanted to assist in any way possible. Cutting his gaze to May, he nodded almost imperceptibly, the bulk of his assent telegraphed in the downward cast of his gaze.

Acknowledging with a nod that O’Neill had yielded the final decision to him, May turned to his 2IC. “Good idea, Major. You probably know your way here from the gate almost as well as Doctor Jackson.”

Horne’s mouth twisted briefly into a crooked grin before he wrenched to attention. “Thank you sir,” he said, his gratitude at being allowed to help evident in his voice.

Jack exchanged another glance with SG-6’s CO, silently accepting the good wishes conveyed in the other man’s sad gaze.

When May stepped aside, Lieutenant Adler and Airman Sedghi came forward.

“Doctor Jackson’s a resourceful fellow,” Sedghi observed, his eyes alight with admiration for the archaeologist. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Adler smiled sadly. “Isn’t there anything we can do to lend a hand here?”

“You’ve done plenty,” O’Neill flashed them both an uncharacteristically warm smile. “There’s nothing more to be done until I find Daniel. Then a trained rescue team and Doc Fraiser will best serve his needs.” 

The youngsters nodded and turned to follow their leader out of the room. As they reached the doorway, Jack called after them.

“Thank you for helping us figure out where he’s wandered off to this time. That’s half the battle with Daniel.”

Sedghi and Adler smiled at the optimistic tone of the complaint. Daniel was notorious for roaming beyond the boundaries O’Neill set. But the colonel always brought his wayward archaeologist home. 

Watching after them as they headed out the door and back to the Stargate, Jack spun awkwardly at the sound of a softly cleared throat. Carter held his bulging pack up at shoulder level. 

He turned his back towards her, and she clipped the pack onto his vest, cataloguing the contents of his pack: the first aid kit, two spare flashlights, a coil of rope, a field cooking unit with extra fuel; two canteens, three towels, three blankets, and a sleeping bag. 

Making sure his knife and sidearm were secure, Jack took the end of the rope Teal’c offered and wove it tightly through the harness.

“You might need this.”

Jack glanced over his shoulder, catching in his peripheral vision the furred edge on the hood of Daniel’s parka, draped across Carter’s arm. Resisting the urge to hug the coat to him – it being the most immediate reminder of a man who could well be irretrievably lost to him – Jack gestured over his shoulder.

“Is there room in the pack?” Refusing to look at her, he finished tying off the rope.

Sam gazed longingly at the parka for a moment then unfastened the top of the pack, laid the garment across the top of the other items, and clipped the pack closed.

As though that was his signal, Jack waited only until Carter had come around behind Teal’c and grabbed the rope before he sat on the lip of the opening, dangling his legs over the side.

“You ready?” he asked, pulling on the bottoms of his fingerless gloves.

“I am,” Teal’c confirmed. 

Kicking out with his legs, Jack turned his body and briefly gripped the edge of the stone then disappeared completely down the hole.

Unsure he would be heard over the thundering of the water beneath him and wanting anyway to test if the rock would interfere with the signal, Jack hooked an elbow around the rope and depressed his radio’s send button.

“Let it out another seventy-five meters,” he shouted into his shoulder. Though he received no radio response to his instructions, his slow, steady descent gave evidence that he had been heard.

Relying on the light spilling into the newly opened hole, Jack kept a close eye on the ledge, glancing downward occasionally to ensure that he wasn’t inadvertently dipped in the river. 

“Hold up,” he barked into his radio a few minutes later, when he estimated his knees were approximately level with the top of the rock shelf, grunting softly as he jerked to a halt.

Glancing across the expanse between himself and solid ground, the choppy water rushing in the gap, he again fingered his radio.

“Teal’c, you’re gonna be able to hold this rope while I swing over to the rock face, right?” he queried, a bit chagrined that it hadn’t occurred to him to ask before now.

“Do not fear, O’Neill. I have you,” was the confident reply.

Jack glanced up to the place he knew Teal’c was standing, wondering briefly which of the many television programs Teal’c watched engendered that oddly un-Jaffalike response.

“Good to hear it,” he retorted, then took a big breath. “Okay, get ready.”

Jack gripped the rope in both hands, glad when he felt the course matter scrape against his fingers, that he had his gloves. Pulling his knees to his chest, he straightened his legs and swung them backward, kicking as hard as he was able. 

It took a half dozen arcs, and two missed opportunities to get his footing, before Jack’s momentum sent him sailing a little harder than he had intended against the rock wall. Hugging the stone and rubbing his bruised shoulder he announced his success to his teammates.

“Alright, keep that rope slack,” he said, gently tugging the rope harness to disentangle it from the seat of his pants. When the material loosened, he hooked the rope with his thumbs and shimmied a bit to work the harness down his legs. Feeling sudden sympathy for women who still put themselves through the hell of girdles, he glanced upward, thankful that neither of his teammates appeared in the opening.

Finally kicking the harness aside, he pulled out his big flashlight and aimed the beam downriver, discovering to his relief that the rock ledge was intact for as far as he could see. 

He gripped his radio, scanning ahead for any movement. “Daniel.” He silently counted to five. “Daniel, its Jack. If you can hear me, hang on, buddy. I’m coming to get you.” 

Straining his ears, Jack worried that Daniel had responded but was lost in the thunder of the river.

“Carter, Teal’c, You picking up anything?”

There was a brief crackle, then Carter’s voice, clear but worn. “Negative, sir.”

“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, then said back in his radio, “Okay, I’m gonna move on down here. I’ll check in every fifteen minutes. Hopefully, we won’t lose radio contact.”

“Roger that, sir,” Sam acknowledged.

Flipping the beam of his flashlight to the farthest point possible, Jack cupped his mouth with his other hand.

“Daniel!” 

Lips pulled tight, Jack tipped his ear in the direction of his flashlight and waited.

Getting no response, he sighed softly, and moved out, following where the beam led.

~oOo~

With curt, jerking movements, Daniel lifted his heavy head from the stone, tilting it so he was looking upriver. Not that he was able to see anything, but at the moment that wasn’t important. What he was interested in now was whether or not he had heard something. Or rather, someone.

He waited for the call to repeat, determined to hold his head up for as long as his tired muscles would cooperate. 

Another bone-rattling shudder assailed him and it took all of his concentration to keep his head from smacking back down onto the rock.

Listening to the roar of the water rushing through the cavern below him, the crash’s echo reverberating painfully against his ears, Daniel berated himself for imagining Jack had called his name. When would he learn Jack couldn’t solve all of his problems?

Daniel wrapped his arms tighter around himself. At least that was what he’d intended. But not too long ago he’d discovered that his body wasn’t following his commands very well. It seemed to take forever to achieve the simplest task.

His sense of touch was shot to hell, too, apparently. He didn’t remember removing his river-soaked BDUs, but he could no longer feel the cold, damp material swathing his frame. Good news was he didn’t feel that gash in his hip either.

Or maybe that gash had never existed. He didn’t entirely trust his brain at the moment. Other than the fact that it was pounding in rhythm with his heartbeat – the brain wasn’t supposed to do that, was it? – the damn thing seemed to have joined the rest of his anatomy on a little hiatus from normal activity. 

Except the muscles and nerves that contributed to shivering. Those guys were working overtime. He reflexively pulled his legs closer to his chest as the quaking continued, and wondered idly if the way his knees were impacting his chest was impeding his breathing. The short, quick gulps of air he was managing apparently weren’t pulling in enough oxygen. Not if his lightheadedness was any gauge.

Or maybe all he really needed was rest. If he remembered correctly, his head sometimes felt like this after days without adequate sleep during the times he was… well, he must have been doing something important if he gave up sleep to do it. The point was he felt better after a long nap. 

Closing his eyes might also help alleviate some of his anxiety regarding his eyesight. He figured he’d been down here long enough that his eyes should have adjusted to the darkness. He should be able to make out even the faintest shadow, yet when he looked around, all he saw was blackness. 

Okay, that was two votes in favor of sleep. Bet his trembling muscles could use the break, too. Maybe if he relaxed into sleep, they’d stop trying to shake him apart. 

It was settled then; sleep seemed to be the best alternative. And it wasn’t like he was doing anything else useful. Exhaling a stuttered sigh, he closed his eyes and molded his body to the form of the rock beneath him. Maybe things would be better when he woke up.

~oOo~

“…it’s above freezing anyway. My breath is not condensing when I exhale.” Jack followed the beam wavering in front of his face to the roof of the cavern. “Carter, if this river runs under the city, maybe there’s another place downstream where we could get Daniel out more easily. Why don’t you have Teal’c take a look?” 

Eyes still scanning the ceiling high above, he released his radio and waited for her response. This was his second check in, which meant he had been traipsing along this path for half an hour and still had seen no sign of Daniel.

“Yes, sir,” came Carter’s slightly broken response. Thankfully, the radios were still transmitting, but Jack surmised it was only a matter of time before the signal deteriorated. 

“I’ve been keeping a moderately fast pace for the last thirty minutes,” Jack said, swinging his light back in the direction he had come. “Once I reach Daniel, think you can estimate the distance from my speed and the time?”

“Yes, sir. I think I can manage.” 

In spite of the fact that Daniel’s life could depend on her ability to locate them quickly, Jack was sure she had infused a little cheek into her response. Probably something to do with her perception that he’d questioned her skills. Scientists.

“Good,” he replied letting none of his irritation seep out. “Next check-in in fifteen. O’Neill out.” 

Moving as quickly as the narrow footpath would allow, the jarring motion of his trot bouncing the beam haphazardly over the trail, Jack doggedly returned to his quest for his missing archaeologist, while his mind replayed the events surrounding their last encounter.

 

// From the time Daniel confessed his ‘feelings’ to Jack, the younger man began to withdraw, the emotional distance between them growing to the point where Daniel apparently needed actual physical distance. 

Jack wasn’t really surprised when he received Daniel’s written request to go off-world without his team. But he adamantly refused to sign off on the assignment until Daniel came clean, knowing intuitively that Daniel’s droning insistence that the ruins were a major find was so much bullshit.

Confronted by the colonel in his office and backed into a corner – literally and figuratively – Daniel shot Jack a look that he usually reserved for Goa’uld and Senator Kinsey. Undeterred, Jack pushed for an explanation.

Swallowing convulsively, Daniel pushed by the older man and closed his door, turning slowly to face Jack. 

“I need to get away. Clear my head,” he said, drawing an irritated breath when the hard set of Jack’s mouth told him it wasn’t enough. “Ever since that morning…” Daniel knew he didn’t need to clarify which morning he referred to. “I don’t even know why I told you, except, I guess, misery really does love company.” Daniel’s small stressed laugh was met with an unemotional stare.

“This entire situation is impossible,” he finally muttered to the floor he began agitatedly pacing. “I love my wife.” Daniel’s steps faltered as his journey carried him near Jack. Raising desolate eyes, his lips moved silently, mouthing what Jack read as, ‘And I love you.’ 

He turned away abruptly and marched across the room. “Sha’re is so far away and you…” Daniel stopped when he reached the opposite wall. Spinning, he fell backward against it.

“I need you, Jack, and, god help me, I want you. And I feel so damned guilty for blaming my kidnapped wife that I can’t have you!” 

Closing his eyes to draw a calming breath, twin drops of frustration spilled from his eyes. “I don’t expect you to understand this. I sure as hell don’t. All I know is you’ve suddenly become the physical manifestation of this terrible guilt I feel, and I can’t even think clearly when you’re around me. I need some distance."

So Jack had signed off on SG-6’s use of his archaeologist and wished Daniel luck in getting his head on straight – no pun intended.//

 

Jack cursed as his boot found a previously undetected stone and skidded sideways, spilling him, knees-first, onto the ledge. The flashlight slipped out of his grasp, clanked against the stone and skittered away from him, rolling crazily, and finally coming to rest against the rock wall.

Squeezing his teeth tightly against the pain shooting through his left knee, Jack fell forward onto his palms and reached for his light. As his head came up his eyes followed the direction of the beam. 

Just outside the area of illumination was a sizeable mass, another rock, one he’d have to climb over, or…did the damn thing just move?

“Daniel!”

His discomfort forgotten, Jack pushed himself upright, snagged his flashlight and hurried to the lump, more sure with every step that he had found his missing teammate.

Nearing the still figure, he called Daniel’s name again. Having gotten no response, he pulled up short, worry deepening the lines in his forehead. He stooped before his friend’s head, reaching a tentative hand towards his jaw line. The skin was cold, seemingly lifeless. Daniel offered no response to the touch.

He slid the fingers beneath the jaw, afraid of what he would find – or rather what he wouldn’t find. On initial contact, his worse fear was confirmed; there was no detectable heartbeat. On the verge of panic, his training kicked in and he waited, breathlessly, recalling that the heartbeat of a hypothermic person may be weak and slow. He pushed his fingers more firmly against the chilled flesh.

“Come on, Daniel,” he muttered softly. 

He nearly gave a whoop of exhilaration when the pulse point beneath his fingertips stirred, evidence that Daniel’s blood was still circulating. He kept his fingers in place until he felt a second beat. Weak and slow, but there.

Closing his eyes, both to control his emotions and to center his focus, Jack placed his fingertips before Daniel’s lips, nodding in satisfaction when a feeble puff of air wafted from between them. Daniel shuddered again, and Jack surmised it was that movement that has first drawn his attention.

Pushing a relieved breath between his own lips, Jack squeezed his radio. 

“Carter, I’ve found him.”

“Sir, is he –”

“He’s alive, Carter. Damn cold, but alive. Mark the time and figure the distance then let Teal’c know. That way he can concentrate his search for an alternate way down.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be here to direct Janet to you.”

Gazing down at the reason for Janet’s impending arrival, he nodded. “Thanks. O’Neill out.”

With Carter’s and Teal’c’s conversation as backdrop, Jack set himself to assessing their youngest team member’s condition. Shining the flashlight fully on his upper body, he noted that Daniel lay on his side, chin tucked into his chest, his arms wrapped loosely around him. He winced at the small puddle of vomit, mostly water, congealing on the stone beside Daniel’s head. 

Swinging the light downward, over the knees pulled into Daniel’s midsection, he caught the red glint of blood on the upper part of Daniel’s leg. As the blood no longer appeared to be free flowing, he filed the information and moved on to more urgent needs.

Sweeping still damp locks from the pale forehead, noting the scrape just above Daniel’s left eyebrow, Jack cupped Daniel’s cheek and gently tipped the slack face towards him, scowling at Daniel’s lack of responsiveness. As he scanned for injury, Jack’s eyes fell to Daniel’s lips, slightly parted in repose.

“You know,” he whispered mockingly, “your blue eyes make my chest ache, they’re so beautiful, but the blue lips are doing nothing for me.” His own lips turned upward slightly at his lame joke but Daniel remained stoic. 

Almost as soon as his lips reached smile status, they fell into a deep frown, information that had been hovering in the back of his mind suddenly coming to the fore. 

“Weren’t you just shivering?” Jack blurted, giving voice to his thoughts. Snaking a hand under the neck of Daniel’s long sleeved tee shirt, Jack gasped at the unnatural feel of the cold, damp skin on his fingers, and, mentally counting to ten, he snatched his hand back.

“Not good,” he muttered, having detected no tremors.

Detaching his backpack from his vest, he pulled it open and dug through the contents until he found one of the blankets Carter had packed. He unfolded it quickly and spread it out behind Daniel. 

Shifting his position, he set his flashlight on the floor beside him, aiming the beam on his unconscious friend. He gently straightened Daniel’s legs, resting one hand on the younger man’s shoulder to keep him in place, and watched for signs of profuse bleeding on the injured hip. 

Once Daniel’s legs were extended, Jack stepped over and behind the younger man. Sliding his hand beneath Daniel’s head where it rested on the stone, he grimaced as the cold, wet strands of long hair, quickly soaked his glove. 

Knowing that any sudden movements could cause Daniel’s heart to beat erratically, Jack grasped Daniel’s vest and slowly slid Daniel’s upper body onto the blanket, careful not to jar him. Shifting his hold to Daniel’s belt, he brought Daniel’s hip, then his legs over to the blanket. 

Even in the dim light he had to work in, Jack immediately noticed the dark stain on his fingers when he slipped his hand from beneath Daniel’s head. Moving his hand closer to the light, he cursed, and dug in his bag for the first aid kit, pulling out the largest bandage he had. 

Knowing that his first priority was getting Daniel warm again, Jack folded the bandage and pressed it to the back of Daniel’s head. Reaching behind him, he blindly dug in his backpack, locating by touch a towel and Daniel’s parka. Wrapping the towel around Daniel’s head, as much to absorb the moisture as to keep the bandage in place, he pulled the parka beneath Daniel’s head and gently settled the younger man on the downy pillow, draping the coat around the top of his friend’s head to try and keep some warmth in.

Snatching the wet gloves from his hands, Jack moved further down Daniel’s body. 

“Okay, buddy, let’s get you out of these wet things,” Jack muttered. He unclipped the holster from Daniel’s leg – pausing half a second to marvel that the man had kept his sidearm – and unclasped the belt. 

Grasping the zipper pull on Daniel’s vest, he tugged firmly, but the vest refused to open. He shone the flashlight briefly on the zipper to determine the problem, unsheathed his knife, and proceeded to slice the vest up the side. He cut a notch in the bottom of Daniel’s tee shirt and pulled the ends apart, ripping the fabric up the side. Cutting away the sleeve closest to him, he moved to the opposite side and quickly and efficiently removed both vest and shirt, tossing them against the wall. 

Gently swiping the dampness from Daniel’s gaunt chest and back with another of the towels from his backpack, Jack noted the barely visible stirring of muscle over ribcage that evidenced Daniel’s sluggish breathing. His features bunched disconcertedly at the mottled aspect of Daniel’s sternum, darker patches showing just beneath the white skin. He gingerly palpated for broken or cracked ribs, and nodded, reassured that the damage was all external. Daniel would be sore as hell when he woke up but at least they didn’t have to worry about a punctured lung.

Quickly running the towel over slack limbs, he wrapped one of the blankets across Daniel’s torso, concentrating on warming only his friend’s core, and tucked both sides under him to keep out the cool air. 

Jack wasted no time removing Daniel’s boots, socks, BDU’s and boxers, carefully drying every inch of his friend’s colorless skin. 

Jack pulled the blanket down over Daniel’s bare legs and again pushed the ends under his frigid body as far as he could get them without shaking him, working his way back up Daniel’s torso ensuring every inch of the cover was tucked beneath. 

Unzipping the sleeping bag, he again slowly transferred Daniel onto the thicker padding. Pulling the sleeping bag away from the wall to slide Daniel further into its folds, he wrapped the covering firmly around his friend. 

The groan that escaped Jack’s lips when he pushed himself to his feet rivaled the roar of the river against the rocks. He moved his backpack and the first aid kit to the side, so they would be close at hand, unclipped his belt and quickly doffed his vest, jacket, boots and BDU’s, piling his clothes against the wall.

Retrieving the last blanket from his backpack, Jack slipped into the sleeping bag next to his archaeologist, squirming against him to get as much body contact as possible with the colder man. 

Snaking an arm beneath Daniel’s head, he removed the parka and towel swath, and settled the still damp locks against his shoulder. He wound his other arm around Daniel’s shoulders and gently pulled his unresisting friend into his arms until the frigid body was practically draped over his own. 

Jack shuddered slightly. Even with the layers of cloth from Daniel’s blanket and his tee shirt between them, the chill of Daniel’s skin seeped into his own body. Plus Daniel’s cold, damp locks crept across Jack’s neck near where his head rested on Jack’s right shoulder. 

Hugging the limp body to him, Jack stiffened as a strange quivering sensation tickled his chest. He walked his fingers up to Daniel’s neck and cursed, detecting an abnormal flutter beneath his fingertips. 

“Please tell me that’s just your heart palpitating with excitement at finally being in my arms,” Jack whispered into Daniel’s hair.

The heartbeat settled, seemingly at the sound of his voice, and Jack blew out a relieved whoosh, when his fingers once again detected a slow but steady rhythm.

Skimming his hands down the flaccid back muscles, Jack wrapped the additional blanket around his friend’s icy form. Smoothing the blanket over Daniel’s backside, purposefully ignoring the satisfying feel of the firm mounds under his fingers, he tucked the end tight under Daniel’s left hip. Drawing the other end of the blanket towards him he settled it over their entwined bodies. 

Snaking a hand from beneath the sleeping bag, Jack pulled the blanket that Daniel had been laying on, still damp from his clothing, over top of them. Shifting slightly to get a grip on the parka and towel, Jack grunted as Daniel’s knee slipped between his legs, the thigh moving a little too snug against his crotch.

“Hey. Hey!” he groaned, wriggling his hips to push himself up and away from the stirring in his groin. “The idea is to warm you up, not make me hot.” He reached down and adjusted Daniel’s position until the pressure let up on his balls.

Rolling his eyes upward, he sighed with relief, allowing his body to fully relax. Inhaling deeply, he wrinkled his nose at the stale odor emanating from Daniel’s hair. 

“Just my luck,” Jack mumbled idly. “The one time since the Space Monkey incident that I’m close enough to bury my nose in those long, velvety locks and you have to smell like a wet sewer rat.”

Recalling another time he had held Daniel, he amended, “Well, there was the time I got to hold you during your sarcophagus withdrawal, but let’s face it, you didn’t smell any better then than you do now.” 

“I definitely prefer that citrusy smell after you shampoo,” he concluded. 

Twisting his arm to reach the towel lying at his shoulder, Jack gently rubbed the damp tresses, carefully avoiding the area where he’d seen blood earlier. Setting the towel aside, he snagged the flashlight and, tipping his head so that his gaze fell over the back of Daniel’s skull, he brought the beam up to illuminate the light brown locks. Using less than nimble fingers, the chill making them stiff and ungainly, he parted Daniel’s hair to locate the wound.

Daniel remained unresponsive as he probed but, Jack thought idly, he was doing enough wincing for the both of them. Locating a sizeable lump, he shifted the light enough to see that the injury, while still bleeding slightly, didn’t appear life-threatening. Setting the flashlight on top of his backpack so that the light fell indirectly on his still immobile teammate, Jack pulled the parka to him, covered Daniel’s head with the hood and spread the coat out over his back for additional layering.

Slipping his arms back under the sleeping back, Jack crossed them over Daniel’s lower back and pulled the cold body tight against him, kissing the younger man’s forehead just above the slight abrasion that marred its perfection. 

“Hey,” he sighed. “This is cozy, huh?” He shifted further into the bedding and closed his eyes, relishing the sensation of having Daniel in his embrace.

Jack startled suddenly. Realizing he must have dozed, his cheeks flushed warmly, as Teal’c’s voice boomed again near his left ear. The radio had been silent for so long that Jack had almost forgotten that he and Daniel were not completely alone. Though there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for their cuddle, still Jack felt a momentary sense of guilt at the notion he had been caught enjoying it.

“Captain Carter, I am at the position you suggested,” Teal’c’s utterance was amazingly crisp. “I shall attempt to find a weakened point in the floor of one of these buildings through which we may reach O’Neill and Daniel Jackson.”

Pushing aside his discomfort, Jack loosed his grasp on his archaeologist and keyed his radio.

“Teal’c, I’m reading you loud and clear. There’s gotta be a hole somewhere that’s letting the radio signal through.”

“It is good to hear your voice, O’Neill,” Teal’c rumbled, “What is the condition of Daniel Jackson?”

“He’s cold, but alive. I’m doing my best to warm him up.”

“I shall endeavor to locate you quickly,” Teal’c assured.

“I have no doubt of it, big guy,” Jack responded confidently. “Carter, you hear anything from Fraiser?”

“They’re on their way here from the ‘gate, sir. I estimate it’ll be another forty-five minutes before we make Teal’c’s position.”

As Jack squeezed his radio to respond, a ripple ran through Daniel’s body.

“Hold on,” he told his 2IC, shifting his attention to the 170 pound weight on his chest.

Daniel shivered again.

“Roger that, Carter. Let her know I think Daniel’s responding to my efforts to re-warm him.”

“Sir?” Her tone begged additional information.

“He’s still unconscious, but he’s shivering again. He’d stopped doing that for a short while,” Jack clarified. 

“That’s good to hear, sir. I’ll pass it on.” The radio clicked off briefly then flared to life again. 

“Colonel, what about the blood?” 

Jack closed his eyes, vividly recalling how his stomach had dropped when his fingers emerged from beneath that massive rock coated with a generous measure of Daniel’s vital fluid. 

He swallowed convulsively. “Ah. Well, he’s got a pretty good bump on the head, but I think the blood came from his hip. He’s got a serious cut, but it’s stopped bleeding.”

Jack visualized her blond head bobbing. 

“I’ll let Janet know. Car –”

Carter’s final words were cut off as Jack convulsively squeezed the send button. He gasped into the radio and his hand shot downward, clasping the stray knee that had jerked into his privates.

“Gah, Daniel.”

Having experienced hypothermia on his and Carter’s unplanned trip through the Antarctic Stargate, Jack knew that Daniel’s movements were most likely his body’s response to the reawakening of cold-deadened tissues. Even with his mind off in la-la land, Daniel’s muscles twitched with what Jack remembered felt like the equivalent of ten thousand volts of electricity running through them.

Breathing harshly, Jack tightly gripped his friend and held on, having no choice but to ride out the spasms that rocked the thin frame. Daniel’s hips rubbed wildly against the colonel’s, in spite of Jack’s restraining hug. Abruptly, Daniel’s upper body surged upward, throwing off the parka. As he came down his head impacted Jack’s shoulder, and a harsh grunt issued from the slack lips.

After what seemed a lifetime of stuttered gasps and jarring movements, Daniel stilled.

“Damn,” Jack coughed, “that was one hell of a tremor.” Peering into the wan features, Jack saw Daniel’s lips purse, once, twice, before his brows gathered over quivering eyelids. 

His attention was drawn away briefly by the shout of his 2IC, who had obviously heard his breathless curse. He let go of Daniel’s leg and keyed the radio.

“We’re fine, Carter. I think he’s waking up. He was jerkin’ around here pretty good just a minute ago and his eyelids were fluttering.”

“He’s going to be disoriented when he comes to, sir,” Carter said quietly, and Jack knew she was remembering their time in the frozen cave in Antarctica, when hypothermia had made him believe she was his former wife.

“Yeah. Thanks, Carter.” Jack let go of the radio so that his grunt did not transmit. Daniel lurched again and pressed his hand against Jack’s solar plexus, attempting to push away.

Moaning from the pressure on his gut, Jack resisted the urge to bring his knees upward, and gripped Daniel’s shoulders. He pulled Daniel down onto his chest, holding the trembling man against him – his attempt to comfort ineffectual if Daniel’s groans were any indication – until he stilled again. Splaying his fingers against the broad muscles of Daniel’s back, Jack sensed the fine vibrations transmitting through his palms to the backs of his hands. 

Turning his head, Jack smiled reflexively into the twin slivers of blue aimed in his direction.

“Hey.”

The eyes widened a bit and focused on Jack’s lips, but Daniel gave no other indication he had heard. His face maintained the dull aspect of his unconscious form, his jaw slack, his mouth agape.

The sleeping bag stirred, a small mound formed in the center, and moved with little disturbance to the surface, like a shark beneath the water heading for an unsuspecting swimmer, until Daniel’s fingers emerged and clumsily gripped Jack’s chin. 

Daniel’s eyes drifted downward then back to the lips.

Gently kneading the shoulder beneath his hand, Jack tipped his head forward, attempting to attract Daniel’s eyes with his own.

“Hey, Daniel. You here with me?”

Daniel’s eyes flickered closed briefly, and when they reopened, Jack was certain that his friend had returned from whatever limbo the cold had sent him to, the blue gaze that lifted to his seeming so familiar. 

Jack’s mouth tugged into a sappy grin, his dark eyes locked with the pale blue ones. It occurred to him that he should let Carter know, but the idea floated away on Daniel’s soft sigh.

In less time than I took Jack to realize what was happening, Daniel twisted in his hold, and, digging frigid toes into Jack’s calf, he pushed himself upward, pressing his cool, pale lips to Jack’s warm, pink ones. Intuitively, Jack leaned into the kiss, his own lips parting in welcome.

Jack adjusted his grip on Daniel, cautiously encircling the injured man’s back and pulling him in, an embrace to both support and bring him closer.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds before Daniel pulled away, exhausted, and collapsed panting against Jack’s neck. His hand fell slack against Jack’s collarbone.

Stirring faintly, Daniel breathed against Jack’s skin, “Love you.” 

By the time the shock had worn off enough for Jack to contemplate a response, Daniel had relaxed into him, huffing another gentle sigh against his neck. Jack wrapped his arms around the younger man and closed his eyes, savoring the lingering sensation of Daniel’s mouth on his, the steady puffs of air brushing his throat.

The radio crackled, but no voices followed. 

Jack hugged Daniel closer. “Doc’ll be here shortly, Daniel. Teal’c and Carter’ll –”

‘He’s going to be disoriented when he comes to, sir.’ 

Carter’s last words slammed him as hard as Daniel’s poke to his midsection had. Suddenly, Daniel’s reassuring expirations became accusatory whispers, condemning him for conduct unbecoming an officer. It wasn’t that he had kissed another man that weighed so heavily on Jack’s conscience, but that he had returned a kiss that he wasn’t sure had been meant for him. 

Snatching his hands from Daniel’s waist, Jack pulled back, staring askance at the limp face nuzzled against his neck. 

“You had no idea what you were doing, did you?” he moaned in self reproach. “God. Did you think I was your missing wife, just like I thought Carter was Sara?” 

Daniel offered no explanation, no absolution, and Jack was left floundering alone in his guilt.

But abandoning the source of his guilt – as Jack had selfishly thought of Daniel’s flight to this planet – was never a consideration. Daniel was still hypothermic; shudders periodically assailing the battered frame. So Jack returned his hands to his friend’s back, offering comfort and warmth. 

“What was I thinking? I should have known you weren’t in your right mind. Not all that long ago you were completely unresponsive.” Jack slammed his head back against the sleeping bag. “God. And I took advantage of you.”

Even as he ruminated on how wrong his actions had been, somewhere in the core of his being, Jack couldn’t bat down the utter feeling of rightness the moment had engendered – the slight weight of Daniel in his arms, the hesitant press of lips, growing, blossoming to near rapturous proportions, before they parted on Daniel’s soft sigh of contentment. He longed to repeat it, even as he rued the initial event, and knew that pretending it had never happened would be one of the hardest things he would ever have to do.

But he knew he had to – for Daniel’s sake.

Jack gazed again into the open, innocent face of his friend. “You’re gonna let this tear you up, aren’t you? Brand yourself as unfaithful, even though at the time, you thought you were kissing the right person.”

Though he sought no comforting words for himself, he longed to offer solace to his friend. He rested his cheek companionably on the soft hair beneath it.

“Maybe you won’t remember,” he muttered into Daniel’s temple, “I didn’t. If Carter hadn’t told me –” 

“O’Neill.” 

“Damn it,” Jack breathed. As much as he wanted Daniel out of this hole, he needed more time alone with him. Placing a soft kiss on Daniel’s head, he whispered forcefully, “You just remember, none of this is your fault.” 

Pulling a deep breath, Jack let it out in a slow stream before he fingered his radio. “Go ahead, Teal’c.”

“You were correct, O’Neill. I have found a break in the floor of a home nearby. I am shining my flashlight into it now.”

Jack reached over and turned off his own flashlight. Waiting a minute for his eyes to adjust, he squinted into the darkness, scanning the ceiling for Teal’c’s beam. Craning his neck backward, he spied it, a barely visible glow just over his right shoulder – and across the river.

“Teal’c, you’re about ten meters upriver from us, but that hole’s on the wrong side. If you come down there, you’ll have to cross that torrent.” Closing his eyes, Jack mentally placed himself at the gate and marked the mountains and the ruins from that point. Knowing that the river originated north of the mountain and ran under the ruins, he virtually tracked his and Daniel’s trip to their current position. “You’ll need to move northwest about twenty meters,” he suggested. 

“Understood, O’Neill. SG-7 has just arrived with rescue equipment. General Hammond has also sent a structural engineer to determine the safest place to come through.”

No sooner had Teal’c’s radio clicked off than another radio clicked on. “Colonel?” 

That was no member of SG-7. Jack reached over and turned his flashlight back on.

“He’s unconscious, Doc. He was awake briefly, but he went back under. He stopped shivering soon after I located him, but I wrapped him in blankets and climbed in the sleeping bag with him. Since then he’s started shivering again. He’s also been writhing and moaning, so I think he’s experiencing the painful arousal in re-warming muscles.”   
Quirking his mouth in dismay at his inadvertent double entendre, even though no one but him would understand the slip, Jack tipped his head to look into Daniel’s face.   
Smiling at the color on the full lips, he announced, “He’s not as blue anymore, either.” 

“I guess you’d know better than most what that means,” Janet said quietly. Almost as an afterthought, she added, “You did good, sir.” 

Jack cringed at her praise. ‘Yeah, if doing good means enjoying your friend’s body while he’s out of his mind from hypothermia.’

“What about his injuries?” Janet queried. “Captain Carter mentioned his hip.”

Shaking himself from his self-recriminations, Jack concentrated on giving Daniel’s doctor all pertinent information.

“Ah, he’s got a knot on the back of his head and a laceration, about twenty centimeters long, on his left hip. It doesn’t look too deep and it hasn’t bled much since I found him.” He released his radio for her response before he remembered, “Oh, and he’s got some pretty nasty bruises just below his ribcage, but I didn’t find any damage to the ribs themselves.” 

“That all sounds good, Colonel,” Fraiser said reassuringly. “Is he breathing okay? What about his pulse?” 

The soft gusts continued to fall against Jack’s neck. “He’s breathing fine, Doc. His heart rate did get a bit erratic when I first moved him, but it’s since settled into a slow, steady rhythm.”

“Okay. Hang tight, sir. They’re getting ready to cut through the floor. Fraiser out.”

“Hang tight, she says.” Jack gently squeezed the man in his arms. “Not a problem, Doc. It’s the letting go that’s gonna be hard.” 

As though the tumult of his mind had been given voice, a distant roar split the air. Glancing over his shoulder, Jack caught a glimpse of sparks as the rescue team cut through the stone.

Knowing that their time was short, Jack again pressed his lips to Daniel’s brow. “It won’t be long now, buddy. Doc’ll have you tucked up in one her warm infirmary beds before you know it.”

Grasping the hand that rested limply against his collarbone, Jack kissed the fingertips and moved the appendage from its too-intimate position, weaving it back beneath the folds of the sleeping bag. 

All too soon, the cavern was flooded with light and the tiny physician, followed closely by two medics, rappelled down into Jack and Daniel’s seclusion.

Fraiser made quick work of checking Daniel over then she and the rescue team had him bundled in a hypothermia wrap and settled in a rescue litter. An oxygen mask, pumping heated air one of the medics said, was placed over his face.

While the rescue team had made sure Daniel was kept warm, no one gave a second thought to Jack’s condition. When Daniel was lifted from him, Jack felt all the raw dampness of the cavern settle into his heart. Even with all of the rescue personnel surrounding them, at that moment, Jack had felt utterly alone, cold and bereft.

Just before they carried Daniel away, Major Cox promised Jack he’d return soon to get him. Jack watched Daniel until he disappeared through the hole in the ceiling, then he pushed himself up, cursing his stiff knees, and snagging his clothes from their resting place, he dressed mechanically. Though the material shielded his flesh from the chill, it did not begin to warm the cold place in his chest left by Daniel’s absence. 

“Colonel?”

Swinging his gaze to Cox, who waited beneath the gap, Jack turned back to the detritus of his time alone with Daniel. Snagging his flashlight and Daniel’s handgun, he shoved them in one of the outside pockets of his backpack and trudged the short distance to the rope. 

Glancing into the bright sunlight above, he pushed down the loss of what could be. Daniel was alive, but he had a long recovery ahead of him. 

Stepping into the rescue harness, Jack gripped the cable as Cox attached it. He nodded sharply, a signal to the rescuer that he was secure. But also a signal to himself that he had to let go of his dream that there could be more than what he had had here.

As he ascended to the real world, Jack made a resolution. For Daniel he could do it, leave their one moment of intimacy here in the darkness, never to be spoken of again. Daniel had a wife and therefore had no need for anything more from Jack than friendship and support. Never mind that Jack longed to give him everything he had. That was his problem. For Daniel, he could parcel himself out.

~oOo~

“…It could have been a lot worse,” Jack heard Daniel say as he neared the curtain- shielded bed. “If you hadn’t badgered me to zip my vest, I’d likely have more than just this discomfort in my chest to complain about.”

When no one responded after a few seconds, Jack wondered whether Daniel was practicing a conversation yet to take place. A visible stirring against the curtain dispelled that notion as did the second voice that finally sounded.

“Still, you could have been killed. I never should have left you there alone-”

“Don’t,” Daniel barked. “It wasn’t your fault… well, not entirely, anyway. First of all, I talked you into letting me stay, and secondly, if I had come back when I said I would, instead of exploring the rest of the building, I wouldn’t have fallen through the floor.”

“Somehow I don’t think Colonel O’Neill or General Hammond is going to see it that way,” the glum voice that Jack finally recognized as Major Horne’s said.

“I can’t promise anything,” Daniel responded encouragingly, “but Jack’s had enough experience with my stubborn refusal to follow protocol that he’s bound to admit that, short of throwing me over your shoulder and carrying me back to camp with you, there wasn’t a whole lot you could have done to prevent this.”

Jack’s eyebrows rose at the major’s knowing snort. 

“So those stories are true, huh?” Horne chuckled. After a moment he sighed a more sober, “Thanks, Daniel.”

Detecting the curtain’s disturbance as Horne made his way from behind it; Jack scooted two beds down and waited for Horne to emerge. In spite of Daniel’s insistence that his ordeal was his own fault, Jack had no intention of letting Horne off the hook too easily.

Horne came around the curtain with his head down, and as he closed in on Jack’s location, the colonel stepped into his pathway so that the junior officer nearly ran headlong into him. Reaching out, Jack gripped strong shoulders and righted SG-6’s 2IC.

“Major Horne.”

“Colonel O’Neill. I, ah, I heard Doctor Jackson was allowed visitors…” 

For the past three days Fraiser had limited Daniel’s interactions to the medical staff, the general and Jack. Aside from the hypothermia, Daniel had also had to fight an infection in his hip wound from the dirty river. He had finally fully surfaced from the sickness and drug induced haze in the early hours that morning.

“Yeah, I was just…” Jack gestured at the curtain.

“Oh, by all means. I was leaving.” Horne smiled awkwardly and shot a glance back towards the bed in which the SGC’s premier archaeologist was ensconced. When he turned back Jack inwardly smiled at the unmistakable look of admiration in the light brown eyes.

“You know, he’s okay,” Horne confided.

“Yeah, I do know,” Jack agreed, immediately rethinking his plan to punish Horne severely. 

Nodding respectfully, the major headed for the infirmary exit.

‘Ahh. Another convert.’ 

Jack knew just how he felt. He had underestimated Daniel’s worth himself once. In that case it had taken Daniel’s actual death for Jack to understand just how valuable Daniel Jackson was. ‘Thank god that extreme wasn’t necessary this time.’

Physically shaking the specter of morbid thoughts from his mind, Jack marched to Daniel’s bed and slipped around the curtain.

Daniel had his journal open on the roll away table, his pen precariously balanced in the fingers of his right hand to avoid the still-painful areas that had been filleted when he pulled himself out of the river. He looked up as Jack appeared at his side.

“Hey.” Jack flashed him a quick smile. “How you feeling?”

Daniel dropped the pen and leaned back into his pillows. All of the wires and tubes he had acquired over the last few days, save the ever-present IV, were gone.

“Tired. Now that Janet’s letting me have visitors, the flow’s been non-stop. Sam and Teal’c were here earlier. And just now –”

“Major Horne. I know. I ran into him as I was coming in.” Jack’s lips quirked sideways causing Daniel’s brow to jerk upward. “I’m expecting him to request membership in the Daniel Jackson fan club, you know.”

The corners of Daniel’s lips followed his eyes in a downward shift. “It wasn’t his fault, Jack.”

“Okay.” Jack conceded, allowing the subject of Major Horne to die. “See you got your glasses back.”

Gripping the frames near his right temple, Daniel adjusted the lenses. “Yeah, thanks.”

Jack nodded, and Daniel went back to examining the table top. He pressed his thumbs against the bottom edge of his journal, his fingers nervously caressing the leather cover.

“Thanks for the rescue, too, by the way,” Daniel said to cover the silence. As the words left his lips he recalled how he had initially encouraged himself with the thought that Jack would come for him, only to castigate himself later for relying so heavily on the older man. Shifting his gaze to quickly rake Jack’s seemingly ill-at-ease posture, he surmised he was not the only one who was conflicted.

“I thought at one point I heard you calling me down there in that cavern, but, honestly, I was so out of it, I probably imagined the whole thing.” Daniel’s embarrassed smile turned earnest. “I never doubted you’d be there for me though.”

Not knowing what sort of response he was expecting, or even if he expected one at all, Daniel was nevertheless disappointed when Jack turned away from him.

Catching sight of Daniel’s lunch tray on the bedside table, Jack lifted the protective cover from the plate. Little furrows lined the mashed potatoes, but the portion size didn’t appear to have been reduced. A small mound of peas lay next to the untouched chicken.

“How long are we going to ignore it?”

“It?” Startling slightly, Jack practically dropped the cover over the plate.

“That honkin’ big elephant leaning against the wall behind you.”

Jack automatically turned in the direction Daniel indicated then snapped back, a chagrined smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. 

Offering a small self-satisfied smile, Daniel gestured to the foot of his bed. “Open the curtain, would you. We need to talk but I think it would be safer to know if anyone else is within earshot.”

Jack grasped the curtain and walked it around to the other side of Daniel’s bed, fully exposing the occupant, and allowing them both to see the comings and going of the nurses.

Daniel gently cleared his throat. “I know what you did for me, Jack.”

“Hey,” Jack said dismissively, “you’re a member of my team. You needed help. I helped.”

Pulling his mouth tight, his grimace conveying his dissatisfaction with Jack’s pat answer, Daniel glanced over the rims of his glasses.

“But it’s not that simple is it? I’m not just a member of your team.” Daniel cut off abruptly, pushing himself higher in the bed when a nurse approached. She went directly to Daniel’s discarded lunch tray and lifted the lid.

“You didn’t eat much.” Her eyes showed none of the reprimand her voice conveyed.

Daniel shrugged. “I guess I was a little overconfident. After two days of nothing but liquids the chicken sounded good, but I don’t think my stomach agreed with my dietary choice.”

She smiled sympathetically. “I can get you some soup.”

“Soup would be good, thanks.”

Nodding amiably in the Colonel’s direction, she lifted the tray and went to fill Daniel’s order.

Once she was gone, Daniel glanced at Jack, who had turned and was nearly hiding his face behind the curtain. Deciding that the best tact was to continue as though they hadn’t been interrupted, Daniel said quietly, “It can’t have been easy for you. That up close and personal contact, intimate really, knowing… what we talked about a few weeks ago.”

“I dealt with it, okay,” Jack hissed through tightly clenched teeth.

Daniel turned inquiring eyes on Jack, studying him as closely as any of the various artifacts he has encountered over the years. “Why are you angry?”

Trying to make it seem he was doing anything but, Jack avoided Daniel’s stare. “Why do we have to talk about it? I did what I had to do. It’s over.”

Daniel’s face crumpled slightly. “Then you’ve changed your mind about…”

“God, Daniel, no.” Jack’s response to the grief in Daniel’s voice was automatic, pushing his own despair into the background. 

Taking a step towards the younger man, Jack paused, looking around to make sure they were unobserved. “When things are resolved with Sha’re, I will be here, waiting.” His eyes dropped to his hands kneading convulsively at chest level. “If you decide it’s me you want.”

Daniel opened his mouth to reassure Jack that his feelings hadn’t changed, but his brain swerved mid-thought, its course redirected by the pain-filled cringe that bowed Jack’s shoulders. With his usual extraordinary insight, Daniel understood.

Smiling softly, he closed his eyes returning to the damp, cold air of the underground cavern. The body beneath his infusing comfort as well as heat.

“I knew it was you, Jack.” His eyelids twitched open, blue eyes seeking brown. “I think I meant it to be goodbye but… that kiss changed everything.”

Daniel’s gaze shifted over Jack’s shoulder. “These last few weeks haven’t been easy, you know that. Wanting so desperately what I can’t have. In that cavern, I lay there listening to the river rush by and I thought what an absolutely perfect backdrop it was for the turbulent state of my soul.” Ashamed to even voice the thought, he lowered his eyes and said softly, “And I wondered if I even wanted to go on – not that I wanted to die but… going back to the same situation I ran away from…”

“Daniel.” Jack laid a comforting hand on Daniel’s arm.

“I had pretty much made up my mind to tell you it was a mistake to confess my feelings like that.” Unable to bear Jack’s reaction at that pronouncement, Daniel kept his head down. “And when I woke up in your arms, your lips mere inches from mine, I thought...” Daniel grinned. “No, that’s not right. There wasn’t any thought involved. It was all instinctual – what better way to say goodbye than with a kiss?” 

Irresistibly drawn to his center, Daniel’s eyes again sought Jack’s. A joyful smile lit his face. “And then you kissed me back and… suddenly saying goodbye seemed like a very bad decision.”

Jack released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, the air whooshing from his lungs, taking all of his guilt and dread with it.

Daniel raised his arm, tugging slightly on the IV tubing, and moved it across his body, placing his hand on top of the hand Jack rested on his other arm. “My whole life’s been unsettled since Sha’re was taken… I was figuratively swept away in a raging river almost two years ago, just as surely as that underground river literally took me on a wild ride the other day.“ 

‘Kinda the way I’ve been swept away by my feelings for you,’ he added silently.

Daniel shook his head and dragged his focus back to his main point. “There have been times when that river has tossed me around until I felt helpless, useless. 

“But no matter how rough the current got, you were always there, the rock in the middle of the stream. The place where I sought shelter. My solid ground.

“You are not the problem. And pushing you away was not one of my brightest moves,” he concluded, laughing softly.

“What I said…” Daniel sobered instantly, “I know it probably complicates things. But, I don’t regret saying it, and I’m not gonna take it back. 

“I don’t expect you to respond in kind, in fact, I’m not sure I’d know what to do if you did respond in kind…” Daniel purposefully slowed his tongue which had unexpectedly taken his thoughts and run with them. “There’s no resolution in sight,” he said matter-of-factly, “We don’t even know where Sha’re is.”

Jack, watching their entwined hands, nodded acknowledgment of that truth.

Daniel studied him, considering. Finally, he added, “As much as I hope to get back the Sha’re Apophis took from me, I’m not sure I believe any more that that’s possible.” He sighed heavily. “But I’m not ready to give up on her, Jack.” Daniel straightened in his pillows as Jack’s eyes rose to meet his.

“I don’t want you to give up,” Jack replied, his earnest gaze warming Daniel’s soul every bit as much as his body had warmed Daniel’s hypothermia. 

“But, I need you, too,” Daniel asserted, “and I know it’s incredibly selfish for me to ask –”

“So, don’t ask.” Jack squeezed Daniel’s hand. “Just know that I’ll be here. Whenever you need me.”

Daniel’s bottom lip quivered briefly. “I’m counting on that,” he breathed. 

Spying the nurse returning with Daniel’s soup, Jack slid his hand from beneath Daniel’s. “Why don’t I let you finish your lunch? I need to get with Carter anyway about some doohickey she’s wanting to study. I’ll come back later.”

Keenly aware that any outward sign of his delight at the prospect of Jack’s return would be inappropriate in the presence of a third party, Daniel let his eyes convey his joy.

“I look forward to it.” Daniel’s smile broadened with the realization that he really did.

Nodding his farewell to the nurse who placed a bowl of soup on the table in front of Daniel, Jack patted the younger man’s arm and left him to his lunch. 

Pausing at the exit he turned back and watched his archaeologist inhale deeply of the aroma wafting from the bowl, a serene glow lighting his countenance.

“Lots to look forward to,” he said decisively and went to find Carter.


End file.
